The Hamme (in its upper reaches Giehler Bach) is a long river in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, north-east of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
. Its source is north of
Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Osterholz-Scharmbeck (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Oosterholt-Scharmbeek'') is a town and the capital of the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osterholz-Scharmbeck is situated in between the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven.
Geography ...
. It flows through the moors north-east of Bremen called
Teufelsmoor
The Teufelsmoor is a region of bog and moorland north of Bremen, Germany. It forms a large part of the district of Osterholz, and extends into the neighbouring districts of Rotenburg ( Gnarrenburg municipality).
Geography
The depression is d ...
, and meets the river
Wümme
Wümme () is a river in northern Germany, in the states Lower Saxony and Bremen, marking the border between the two states for part of its course. It is the main headstream of the Lesum.
The Wümme's length is . Including the Lesum, that runs in ...
in
Ritterhude
Ritterhude (Northern Low Saxon: ''Hu’e'') is a municipality in the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hamme, approx. 6 km southwest of Osterholz-Scharmbeck, and 13 km northwest of Bremen.
Ge ...
. From this junction, the river is called
Lesum
The Lesum is a river in northern Germany, right tributary of the Weser, navigable for Class III ships.Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
in
Bremen-Vegesack
Vegesack is a northern district of the city of Bremen.
Geography
''Vegesack'' is located about north from the centre of Bremen-city at the mouth of the river Lesum, beside the river Weser (). Abutting the district of Vegesack to the northwest is ...
.
On the river Hamme there are many water-sport clubs, for example the Wassersportclub Hamme e.V. (watersports-club Hamme), the Ruder-Verein Osterholz-Scharmbeck von 1901 e.V. (Rowing Club Osterholz-Scharmbeck since 1901) and the Segel Club Hamme e.V. (Sailing Club Hamme).
Course
The upper reaches of the Hamme are called the ''Giehler Bach'' (Giehl Stream). The ''Giehler Bach'' originates in the heathland of the ''Lange Heide'' northeast of Osterholz-Scharmbeck, a
geest
Geest is a type of landform, slightly raised above the surrounding countryside, that occurs on the plains of Northern Germany, the Northern Netherlands and Denmark. It is a landscape of sandy and gravelly soils formed as a glacial outwash plai ...
plateau at a height of about , which is also the source of many other geest streams (such as the Drepte, Scharmbecker Bach, Schönebecker Aue and Wienbeck). The sport designated as the "source" is the outlet of several drainage ditches on the plateau which is used for farming.
From this geest ridge, a
terminal moraine
A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...
from the
Saale glaciation
The Saale glaciation or Saale Glaciation, sometimes referred to as the Saalian glaciation, Saale cold period (german: Saale-Kaltzeit), Saale complex (''Saale-Komplex'') or Saale glacial stage (''Saale-Glazial'', colloquially also the ''Saale-Eiszei ...
, the ''Giehler Bach'' flows northeastwards and descends within a few kilometers between the villages of Hülseberg and Freißenbüttel to a height about 15 m above sea level (
NN). Near
Ohlenstedt it is joined by waters from the ''Ohlenstedter Quellseen'' lakes and the river, falling very gently, then flows through the collective municipality of
Hambergen to the ''Springmoor'' near ''Giehlermühlen'' (
Vollersode) (5 m above sea level).
From there, the stream descends very gently to the
Teufelsmoor
The Teufelsmoor is a region of bog and moorland north of Bremen, Germany. It forms a large part of the district of Osterholz, and extends into the neighbouring districts of Rotenburg ( Gnarrenburg municipality).
Geography
The depression is d ...
, where it is finally discharges into the Hamme into the ''Giehler Moor'' near
Viehspecken (4 m above sea level). It is also joined by the
Oste-Hamme Canal (Kollbeck). Flowing very slowly, the Hamme now heads south through the
glacial valley
U-shaped valleys, also called trough valleys or glacial troughs, are formed by the process of glaciation. They are characteristic of mountain glaciation in particular. They have a characteristic U shape in cross-section, with steep, straight s ...
named after her.
Between the former moor colonies of Bornreihe and Hüttenbusch the river now continues in the direction of
Worpswede
Worpswede (Northern Low Saxon: ''Worpsweed'') is a municipality in the Osterholz-Scharmbeck, district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teufelsmoor, northeast of Bremen (city), Bremen. The small town itself is located n ...
, where it is joined by three left-hand tributaries, the Rummeldeisbeek, Schmoo and
Umbeck. A few kilometers upstream the
Beek
Beek (; li, Baek ) is a town and municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, in the province of Limburg. As of 2012, Beek has a population of about 16,400, of which about 8,800 live in the town of Beek.
The municipality of Beek makes part o ...
enters from the right, draining most of the moors west of Hamme. Near the mouth of the Beek on the Hamme is the picturesque nature reserve of
Breites Wasser
The Breites Wasser is a lake in the borough of Osterholz-Scharmbeck in the German state of Lower Saxony on the terrain of the Teufelsmoor.
A nature reserve of the same name lies around the lake between Worpswede and the village of Teufelsmoor. T ...
, which is the largest remaining lake in the lowland region. From here the Hamme flows in a southwesterly direction past
Osterholz-Scharmbeck
Osterholz-Scharmbeck (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Oosterholt-Scharmbeek'') is a town and the capital of the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Osterholz-Scharmbeck is situated in between the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven.
Geography ...
towards
Ritterhude
Ritterhude (Northern Low Saxon: ''Hu’e'') is a municipality in the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Hamme, approx. 6 km southwest of Osterholz-Scharmbeck, and 13 km northwest of Bremen.
Ge ...
.
In the 19th century, this part of the Hamme was straightened and the numerous
meanders
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank) and deposits sediments on an inner, convex bank w ...
were cut at a total of seven places, so that the length of the river was reduced from 9 to 4.3 km. Behind the
locks
Lock(s) may refer to:
Common meanings
*Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance
*Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal
Arts and entertainment
* ''Lock ...
in Ritterhude, built in 1876, which keep the Hamme tide-free, the Hamme joins the tidal river of the
Wümme
Wümme () is a river in northern Germany, in the states Lower Saxony and Bremen, marking the border between the two states for part of its course. It is the main headstream of the Lesum.
The Wümme's length is . Including the Lesum, that runs in ...
near the city limits of
Bremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...
and together they form the salt-waters of the
Lesum
The Lesum is a river in northern Germany, right tributary of the Weser, navigable for Class III ships.Weser
The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Bre ...
10 km downstream. The old branches of the river were mainly preserved as one-sided confluences with the Hamme. A remaining part of the so-called ''Altarm 3'' ("Old Arm no. 3") southeast of
Scharmbeckstotel was de-sludged in 2007 as part of the Hamme Depression Nature Conservation Project and in 2008 a sill was added to prevent it from running empty at low water. At the end of January 2020, after three months of construction, the 230-metre-long stretch of this waterbody that had been filled in was dug up again over its length and connected to the Hamme.
[''Osterholzer Anzeiger'': "Altarm der Hamme wurde wiederhergestellt" dated 8 March 2020, p. 9.]
The total length of the river is 48 km and it descends through about 45 m.
File:Giehlerbach springmoor.jpg, Upper reaches of the Hamme (Giehler Bach) in the Springmoor
File:Giehlerbach kollbeck.jpg, Mouth of the Giehler Bach and the Oste-Hamme Canal near Viehspecken
File:Hammeschleuse.jpg, Hamme locks in Ritterhude
File:Hammemündung.jpg, Confluence of the Hamme and the Wümme (from left) to become the Lesum
See also
*
List of rivers of Lower Saxony
All rivers in the German state of Lower Saxony flow directly or indirectly into the North Sea.
A–Z
A
B
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
* Purrmühlenbach
R
S
T
*Tiefenbeek
*Trillkebach
*Trutenbeek
* Twiste
U
* Uffe
*Ulrichswas ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamme
Hamme
Hamme () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the towns of Hamme proper, Kastel Moerzeke, and . In 2018, Hamme had a total population of 24,827. The total area is 40.21 km². The cur ...
Rivers of Germany